Gears of War 3 Details Emerge

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New weapons, modes, and multiplayer features are revealed.

By David Clayman

In the most recent issue of Game Informer magazine new information has been revealed about the third installment in the Gears of War series. We learned the first details about Gears 3 on the Jimmy Fallon Show which debuted the trailer back in April. So far we know that Dom has a beard, Anya fights with the boys, and Marcus has a new gun. But there's so much more.

It's been a year and a half since the fall of Jacinto and the Gears are now living aboard a converted aircraft carrier called the Raven's Nest. The government has disbanded and the survivors from the first two games call a make-shift flotilla their home. The crew rely on each other more than ever, which is highlighted in Gears 3 by the new four-player co-op. Marcus and Dom return to lead a new character named Jace Stratton and Anya Stroud.

Players can now trade weapons with each other or other soldiers in their battle against the lambent. This new enemy which first appeared in Gears of War 2 enters the game quickly when giant enemy crabs overtake the ship. These are a precursor to reanimated Locust troops called Drudges. When attacked, these enemies spawn tendril-like limbs that allow them to expand outward and upward, making cover a lot less safe. They'll also perform a last-ditch attack by blowing themselves up while running at the player.

To fight the new threat the players have access to a new "Pendulum-era lancer with a bayonet and more powerful, close-range rounds. There's also a redesigned hammerburst with a standard zoom, a sawed-off shotgun, and a massive one-shot rifle. One strange new weapon is the digger launcher which fires piranha-like creatures into the ground where they then seek and devour their targets.

The Locust still make an appearance along with new enemy classes like a grenadier and large, organic catapults. To face these larger threats, players can now suit up in a mechanized suit called a silverback. These come equipped with a rocket launcher and a heavy chain gun and can also be deployed as cover, allowing multiple team members to use the weapons.

There's also a new arcade mode that has highly visible scoring and stat tracking. Then it allows players to fiddle with variables including gravity, big-head mode, and sound effects. Arcade mode also includes an idea that appeared in Shadow Complex where players are alerted to how well their friends have done in a certain area.

As far as multiplayer, only two maps have been revealed including a ruined thrashball field and the sinking remains of Jacinto called Overpass. The multiplayer environments can alter dramatically during a match, like water flooding and receding from the ground. There's also a new multi-turret where players can affix their own weapons then hit a single trigger to fire bullets in four directions.

The article also promises a host of new executions using almost all of the weapons and more importantly, we'll finally learn the secret behind Adam Fenix and his plan to save the planet.